DBS represents a therapy that has been shown to treat and relieve certain neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, tremors, dystonia, psychiatric illness, and the like. In general, DBS may include electrically stimulating certain areas of the brain to alter or otherwise affect behavior to alleviate the effects of a neurological disorder. The behavioral effects of brain stimulation typically depend on a location of a stimulating electrode within the brain. For example, DBS of the Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) has shown to reduce depression, anhedonia, and anxiety.
DBS is being used for treating cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD). AD is one of the most common degenerative dementias, and is accompanied by cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression, apathy, agitation, and the like that involve degeneration of neural circuits. There are currently two targets for DBS therapy in treating AD, specifically for improving memory, the fornix and the entorhinal cortex. The fornix as a target for DBS in the treatment of AD is described in, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0231709, entitled, “COGNITIVE FUNCTION WITHIN THE HUMAN BRAIN.” DBS of the fornix has been shown to enhance neurogenesis and the release of neurotrophic factors in the hippocampus. DBS of the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus for AD treatment are described, for example, in WO 2012/083254, entitled, “SITE SPECIFIC DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION FOR ENHANCEMENT OF MEMORY.”
Nucleus Basalis of Meynert (NBM) is a group of neurons located at the base of the forebrain, anterior to the hypothalamus, and ventral to the basal ganglia adjacent to the NAcc. The NBM provides cholinergic innervation to the cerebral cortex by distributing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) via cholinergic fibers projecting to the hippocampus and amygdala. Reduced ACh levels has been shown to impair cognitive function affecting learning and memory in a similar way as with patients diagnosed with AD.
Accordingly, a system and method is needed for DBS of the NBM to serve as a treatment for AD.